Methamphetamine Basics

What it is

Methamphetamine, better known as “meth” is a type of drug that has become one of the many well—known street drugs illegal in Michigan.

Meth is an addictive stimulant, or speed, that quickly and strongly causes certain systems in the brain to activate. Meth can be taken orally, snorted, injected or smoked. Drugfree.org explains that this drug is “highly addictive and that users can develop tolerance very quickly,” meaning that larger and larger doses need to be taken to get the high a user is looking for over time.

The look

image courtesy of methamphetamine.org 

Meth is a crystal like powder that comes in large rocks that are either crushed or pieces broke off. When the power flakes off it is said to look like shards of glass. The substance is usually a white or slightly yellow color depending on the purity of the substance.

The effects

When this drug is smoked or injected, users get and intense reaction that is usually called a “rush” or “flash” that lasts for only a few minutes and is very pleasurable.

If the substance is snorted or swallowed, the body’s response is to experience a euphoric state, more of a high and not the rush like when smoked or injected.

Even though this drug caused pleasurable and euphoric feelings, is usually followed by a state of high agitation and some individuals that use my start to show violent behavior. Other possible immediate affects may include for the user insomnia, increased wakefulness, decreased appetite, irritability or aggression, nervousness, convulsions and the possibility of a heart attack.

The side effects

Those who use meth and become addicted can have their lives start to revolve around the drug. Meth users may end up producing meth, which is a risky business due to the volatile state of the chemicals used to create the substance, and start showing compulsive and chronic symptoms. Long-term use and high dosages can bring on full-blown psychosis when the person becomes constantly violent or aggressive or too paranoid that they can barley function.

Methproject.org is dedicated to helping end addiction to meth and helps show what is happening to a user’s body by using the drug. Along with hair loss, involuntary muscle contractions and twitching, the raising of the body’s core temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, meth rots the teeth of users due to acidity of the drug and lack of hygiene that may be caused by the addiction taking over the user’s life. This drug my cause users to hallucinate and feel like bugs are crawling under their skin. Users will try to dig out the “crank bugs” leaving open scars and scabs all over their bodies.

The federal classification of meth use is a schedule II, as laid out by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Street names

image created by Anna McNeill

Methamphetamines, like many illegal drugs, have various street names to help users and sellers disguise what they are looking for or pushing. The street names for methamphetamines are: chalk, crank, croak, crypto, crystal, fire, glass, tweek, white cross and meth. Other street names listed by the Casa Palmera, a holistic-based residential behavioral health treatment facility in Del Mar, California, are: crystal glass, crystal meth, chalk dust, ice, speed, geep, getter, getgo, go fast, g, trash, garbage, wash, white crunch, hanyak, hironpon, hiropon, hot ice, super ice, batu, kaksonjae, ice cream, quartz, chunky love, cookies, cotton candy, dunk, gak, go-go juice, junk, no doze, pookie, rocket fuel and Scooby snax.

Street names will vary from area to area based on those who use, produce and what names police and other drug enforcement organizations have caught onto.

Casa Palmera also listed nicknames/street names for meth-laced drugs, such as coffee laced with meth is called “biker coffee.” A combination of cocaine and meth is called “croak” or “shabu.” Crack and meth combine is called “twisters,” “fire” or “Mexican speed balls.” The last combination listed is ecstasy and meth, which are called “hugs & kisses,” “P&P” or “party & Play.”

Thos using and abusing meth also have slang terms that are regularly used and have been documented by the staff of Casa Palmera. These slang terms for using and abusing are: get geared up, go fast, crankster gangster, chicken flippin’, hot rolling, hot railing, lithium scabs, fried, foiled, meth monster, tweaker, meth head, speed freak, tweaked, twacked, all tweakened long, woooop chicken, zoomin’, getting glassed, box labs, scattered, spun, spun out. These lists were written by the staff of Casa Palmera.

*information culled from Drugfree.org  unless otherwise sited